Thursday, March 10th, 2016

members Day with guests

(Open to Philanthropists and Advisor Members only)

Times & Sessions Subject to Change

7:00am

Breakfast in the ballroom, the charles hotel

Special Breakfast Meeting: Sustainable Fisheries, sponsored by CEI

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) is pleased to host a Confluence breakfast to discuss how socially motivated funders and investors can build healthy food systems locally, regionally and nationally, with a focus on fisheries and fisheries-related opportunities. We will discuss the dynamic interaction between lending and investment, sector-based business development services, and the importance of public policy to building healthy food systems in the context of climate change and shifting demographics.

8:30AM

9:00AM

BREAK

10:00AM

10:15am

PLENARY: THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN DEMOCRACY

The influence of money in the American political system has become a question of increasing concern, some would say threatening the basic fabric of our democracy. In fact, a groundbreaking 2014 study by Princeton University states that the U.S. government now represents the rich and powerful, not the average citizen – effectively making America an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic. Researchers concluded that that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. Broad-based social movements have all reacted to this imbalance of power, and have made significant inroads in terms of raising citizens' awareness. In this opening plenary we’ll hear from some of the voices supporting a true democracy.

Special Address:

Dennis Kucinich, Former Congressman

Speakers:

Dorian Warren, Fellow, Roosevelt Institute (Moderator)

Daniel Cantor, National Director, Working Families

Lisa Gilbert, Congress Watch Director, Public Citizen

Heather McGhee, President, Demos

11:45AM

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Join us to learn from and appreciate Confluence Members’ reflections on the field in an open forum sharing session.

LUNCH IN THE BALLROOM, THE CHARLES HOTEL

12:15PM

Small Sessions (Choose One)

1:30PM

ELIMINATING EXTREME POVERTY: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MEETING THE UN'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

More than 500 million people are too poor to think about anything other than finding food and shelter. For this population, Microfinance and financial literacy alone has been insufficient in lifting them out of extreme poverty. BRAC, a leading Microfinance organization, pioneered the Graduation approach, a program that helps the very poorest families create a sustainable source of income and gain the confidence and skills they need to take the next steps. It boasts a 95 percent success rate in Bangladesh and was tested in eight pilot countries by other organizations. By using examples from BRAC's pioneering work in Bangladesh, and the development of the Uplift platform, more than one million women and children are targeted to overcome extreme poverty in 20 countries over the next five years. This session shares the BRAC story, as well as those from other regions, to inspire listeners to take on one of the toughest issues facing poverty alleviation today while expanding the market for micro-banking at the same time.

1:30PM

GETTING IMPACT CAPITAL TO THE GRASS ROOTS

While many have identified the social and environmental benefits of reinvesting resources to spur the revitalization of just, local economies, the early stage experiments in connecting Impact Investments are relatively few and still require various layers of philanthropic support. On a national level, we are seeing the emergence of strategies that target place-based, system-scale solutions focusing on (1) workplace structures that narrow income inequality; (2) enterprises that build local resiliency; (4) ownership structures where return on investment will primarily stay within the local community, and (5) supporting investments that are framed to bolster efforts to build political power in disadvantaged communities towards systemic change. This panel will discuss the systematic divestment from a global to a more local economy requiring grantmaking, PRI and MRI investments, and creating a long-term commitment between philanthropic partners and those in the field. Please bring your own stories to share.

1:30PM

INVESTING IN A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY FOR ALL

Activists in rural, urban and Native American communities are mobilizing to fight the pollution created by fossil fuel industries in their neighborhoods and ensure they have access to affordable clean energy, but face the challenge of a lack of access to financing needed to succeed in these efforts. Experience has shown that the growing clean energy economy can help communities that have been left behind by systemic economic and racial inequality, but only if we 1) prioritize investments in higher-wage, union-friendly parts of the clean energy economy; 2) steer those investments toward economically distressed communities, and 3) incorporate strong labor, local hire, and domestic manufacturing standards. Investors have an opportunity to contribute to a just transition to a clean energy economy and economic transformation for these low-income and communities of color. The panel will discuss challenges, solutions and strategies for investors to successfully support all communities through investments in clean energy.

Speakers:

Geeta Aiyer, Board Member, Sierra Club Foundation (Moderator)

Donnel Baird, Founder & CEO, BlocPower

Donna House, Ethnocultural Botanist

Raoul Slavin, Managing Director, Treehouse Investments, LLC

1:30PM

LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM INVESTING IN THE U.S.

Farmers and their food production sustain us, yet our U.S. industrial farm system is not sustainable nor is it achieving positive health, environmental or social outcomes. How can investments and philanthropy transform this sector? We will hear from leaders working on the frontlines of investing in a new generation of small and mid-sized organic farms and processing and distribution businesses. They will discuss the state of local food investing through data collected by Slow Money in their State of the Sector Report. The Report analyzes five years of investing (2009–2013) and covers $293 million of investment in 968 food and agriculture deals. The panel will tackle these questions: Which investments achieve predictable, risk-adjusted rates of return? What are the opportunities and constraints to investing in transforming the food sector? How are philanthropic dollars playing a role? How do time and return expectations figure into risk analysis?

Speakers:

Jennifer Astone, Executive Director, Swift Foundation (Moderator)

Michael Bartner, Vice President, Slow Money

Esther Park, CEO, Cienega Capital

Don Shaffer, President & CEO, RSF Social Finance

1:30PM

Sustainability is inherently a long term proposition, but today’s markets are myopic. Investors and management teams alike gravitate towards short-term results. Investments are often structured with defined lives, limiting the ability of investors and entrepreneurs to look towards the horizon. Are current systems properly structured to support sustainability oriented capital markets? This session will look at the state of our capital market system, highlighting the importance of long term strategies. We will explore the idea of shifting investor focus from quarterly returns to sustainable, long-term solutions and whether current investment structures can appropriately address the alignment of mission between investors and entrepreneurs. To create a durable and equitable financial system, we must shift the conversation to long term factors which will better facilitate sustainable, lasting impact.

1:30PM

REGENERATIVE FINANCE: RADICAL INVESTING ON THE FRONTLINES OF CLIMATE AND ECONOMIC CRISES

This workshop explores how investors can directly support community-controlled economic development through non-extractive finance. Regenerative Finance is considering investments as reparations, investing in and educating about investments that move beyond traditional “socially responsible investment,” towards divestment from the oppressive structures of traditional finance as a whole. Young people with wealth and local innovators explore opportunities to invest in impacted communities at the frontlines of racial, climate and economic crises as they weave the fabric of the next economy now.

Speakers:

Kate Poole, Core Leader, ReGenerative Finance (Moderator)

Chris Lindstrom, Director, David Rockefeller Fund

Margot Seigle, Member, Resource Generation

Aaron Tanaka, Director, Center for Economic Democracy

Ed Whitfield, Co-Managing Director, Fund 4 Democratic Communities

Break

2:45PM

3:00PM

Confluence townhall meeting

Join Confluence Philanthropy’s Board and Staff to hear about the year ahead, to ask questions and to share your ideas.

free time

NON MEMBER ADVISORS ARRIVE FOR REGISTRATION AT 5PM

4:00PM

6:00PM

Evening Plenary

SCALING IMPACT: GAINING VELOCITY OR LOSING GROUND?

As the Impact Investing sector mainstreams, there is both celebration and unease. Celebration over the growing relevance and unease with strange bedfellows. The plenary will explore the opportunities, risks, and implications of this new phase we are entering. The session will include panelists who represent both the mainstay actors who have helped shape the sector over the past decade and new players who look to scale investment and impact. Discussion will capture the macro and micro implications: Are there trade-offs as we bring impact investing to scale? Will we gain velocity or lose ground? Expect a lively, honest, and vibrant debate.

Dinner IN THE BALLROOM, the charles hotel

7:30PM

Special Dinner: Inside/Outside Strategies to Keep It In the Ground

How can an armada of Kayaktivists work strategically on the outside to strengthen the hand of investors who are at the center of the Divest/Invest Movement? This panel will explore how Kayaktion and other creative peaceful tactics can be real game changers in keeping fossil fuels safely in the ground, by challenging oil, gas, and coal's infrastructure on the waterways where they have operated with impunity for far too long.

By harnessing the power of the market while simultaneously punishing the bad corporate actors that are holding our planet back we can speed the just transition to a clean energy future and stable climate for our kids.

Sponsored by As You Sow Foundation

Special Dinner: Moving Capital Markets to Account for a Sustainable Future - A Dinner Conversation with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

Please join Jean Rogers, founder and CEO of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and Bob Eccles, the founding Chairman of SASB, professor at Harvard University and Chairman of Arabesque Partners discuss the ideas and people behind the origin of SASB, and what it takes to move the capital markets to account for a sustainable future. Kat Taylor, Co-Founder & CEO of Beneficial State Bank will provide a welcome and introduction.

9:00pm

AMERICAN BANDSTAND DANCE PARTY & NETWORKING

Can you do The Twist? The Mashed Potato? How about the Cabbage Patch? Join the crowd for a networking event and a chance to stretch your legs while gettin’ down in the Ballroom. Our live DJ will be pumping your favorite oldies from the 50s onwards. Festive/period appropriate attire encouraged, but no one with a suit will be turned away at the door!

436 14th Street, Suite 900, Oakland, Ca 94612

510.587.9750

info@confluencephilanthropy.org

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